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Houses
See also: Vemunian Society The term "House" is widely used in Vemuna to designate a noble family. In Vemuna, the power of the ruling House is divided into the other Houses Once an individual acquires a title of Nobility, he or she has the right to give it's family an unique surname, with its own unique sigil and motto. The head of a House is the Patriarch who is normally, but not always, the eldest man of the family. Once the Patriarch dies, or is stripped from his power in another way, the title of Head of the House passes to his eldest son. In the case that a daughter is older than the eldest son, the daughter will take over as the head of the House until the son reaches his sixteenth birthday. Organization Division in Houses and hierarchy In Vemuna, the countless Houses are organized in a pyramidal, highly hierarchic way, in order to keep a clear chain of power: * The Ruling House - '''often called '''Royal House, its at the top of the pyramid. It is, in theory, the most powerful and influential House of the Realm, as every other House must swear allegiance to it, either directly or indirectly (by swearing allegiance to a House that has already "bent the knee"). Before the Liberation of Vemuna, several Ruling Houses existed, and Vemuna was ruled has an oligarchy. However, after the uprising of one of them, the House of Draconis managed to exile all of the others and keep the whole power for itself, transforming Vemuna into an absolute monarchy. * The Head Houses - 'These are the most powerful, influential, and rich Houses of the Realm, only being matched by the Ruling House, to which they swear direct allegiance. They control one of the several Regions of Vemuna. * ' Upper Houses - 'These Houses are not as big or powerful as the Head Houses. They swear their allegiance to the Head House in charge of the territory they are situated in, which are classified as Provinces. * '''Lower Houses - '''These Houses have far less power than those up the pyramid. The area of influence controlled by them is small, often a town. Each Lower House is specialized in certain areas such as farming, mining, hunting, and others, so that the whole Realm can have a steady supply of resources. They control a District. * '''Independent Houses - '''Independent Houses bow to no one but to the Royalty. Their territories are autonomous and can vary in size. Ruling System and Nobility Titles The double-pyramidal society used to organize Houses in Vemuna congregates with the extension and type of territories each House rules. What follows are the nobility titles and ranks in Vemuna, from highest to lowest: * '''King '- The ruler of the Realm of Vemuna. * 'Viceroy '- The ruler of a colony, where they represent the King that they serve. * '''Duke - The patriarch of a Head House has the title of Duke. They rule a Duchy. * Marquess - The patriarch of an Upper House has the title of Marquess. They rule a March. * Count '''- The patriarch of a Lower House has the title of Count. They rule a County. * '''Baron - The patriarch of an Independent House has the title of Baron. They rule an independent territory. * 'Noble '- The least powerful member of the Nobility. This rank consists of the rest of the noblemen and noblewomen that don't rule any sort of land. The title of Sir, Ser or Sor (depending on the native language of the Region) may be addressed to any kind of nobleman. Territory in Vemuna The territory of Vemuna is divided and stratified according to the place that the House in charge occupies in the hierarchy. * '''Province - '''The Realm is divided into several Regions, which are the equivalent to Duchies and are ruled by the Duke of a Head House (with the exception of the Royal-controlled Region, Arragas). * '''Province - '''Each Region is in turn divided into Provinces, which are the equivalent to Marches and are ruled by the Marquess of an Upper House. * '''District - '''Lastly, each Province is divided into Districts, which are the equivalent to Counties and are ruled by the Count of a Lower House. With all of this in note, the normal and formal title of the Patriarch of a Head House would be: "Sir/Sor/Ser name surname, Patriarch and Head of House surname and title of of the territory. "Sor Ian Pastway, Patriarch and Head of House Pastway and Duke of the Region of Saudade. __FORCETOC__